3552 Don Quixote

Discovery and naming

The asteroid was discovered on 26 September 1983, by Swiss astronomer Paul Wild at Zimmerwald Observatory near Bern, Switzerland. It was named after the comic knight who is the eponymous hero of Cervantes Spanish novel Don Quixote (1605). The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 2 December 1990 (M.P.C. 17466).

Orbit and characteristics

Don Quixote is characterized as a dark D-type asteroid in the Tholen and SMASS taxonomy.

It has a highly inclined comet-like orbit of 31 degrees that leads to frequent perturbations by Jupiter. Don Quixote measures 18.4 kilometres in diameter and has a rotation period of 7.7 hours.

Due to its comet-like orbit and albedo, Don Quixote has been suspected to be an extinct comet. However, infrared observations with the Spitzer Space Telescope at 4.5 μm revealed a faint coma and tail around the object. The cometary activity is inferred by carbon dioxide () molecular band emission. In March 2018 a tail was observed at visible wavelengths for the first time. The observation of cometary features during two apparitions suggests that cometary activity is recurrent and Don Quixote is most likely a weakly active comet.

Notes

References

References

1. Mommert, Michael. (March 2018). "CBET 4502: 20180329 : (3552) DON QUIXOTE". Central Bureau of Electronic Telegrams (Harvard).
2. (1 June 2020). "Recurrent Cometary Activity in Near-Earth Object (3552) Don Quixote". The Planetary Science Journal.
3. "JPL Close-Approach Data: 3552 Don Quixote (1983 SA)".
4. "European Asteroid Research Node:(3552) Don Quixote".